Air propelled spinning device



Oct. 30, 1956 H. E. G. TAGGART AIR PROPELLED SPINNING DEVICE 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 1. 1954 70 1 9% 335 p 3 e INVENTOR Ta a r2ATTORNEY 1956 H, E. e. TAGG'ART AIR PROPELLED SPINNING DEVICE 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed; Oct. 1. 1954 fi 'a lzyyarf 2% BY I ATTORNEY AIRPROPELLED SPINNING DEVICE Howard E. G. Taggart, Buena Park, Calif.

Application October 1, 195%, Serial No. 459,742

Claims. (Cl. 46-56) This invention relates to a novel air propelledspinning device primarily adapted for use as a kite tail and which islikewise capable of numerous other uses such as to afford amusement, toattract attention and to protect fruit trees and crops from birds.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a novel kitetail or kite stabilizing device which will automatically compensate forchanges in wind velocity and will offer substantially no resistance ordrag when being used under conditions of low wind velocities, and whichwill automatically increase the drag or resistance as the wind velocityincreases.

A further object of the invention is to provide a spinning device whichwhen used as a kite tail will be extremely attractive in appearance andwhich will extend only a short distance from the kite, enabling a kiteto be flown close to trees, telephone wires and other hazards withoutrisk or" the tail becoming entangled therewith.

Another object of the invention is to provide a spinning device havingnovel attaching means for quickly and easily attaching the device to acord or other strandlike element.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafterbecome more fully apparent from the following description of thedrawings, illustrating presently preferred embodiments thereof, andwherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a conventional kite as it appearsin flight with the novel spinning device attached thereto andfunctioning as a kite tail;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view, partly in section,showing a portion of the spinning device and a lower portion of the kiteto which the device is attached and looking toward the opposite side ofthe kite and spinning device as seen in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken substantially along a plane asindicated by the line 3--3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a plan View of the spinning device shown detached f rom thekite;

Figure 5 is a cross sectional view thereof, taken substantially along aplane as indicated by the line 5-5 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a cross sectional view through the blades of the spinningdevice showing the relative positions of the two blades while rotating,as seen in Figure 1;

Figure 7 is a plan view of the lower portion of another conventionalform of kite shown equipped with two spinning devices constructed torotate in opposite directions and showing the vanes or blades of thespinning devices as they will appear when rotated, and

Figure 8 is a cross sectional view through the vanes of the two spinningdevices as seen in Figure 7, as they appear looking downwardly fromabove in open positions and being revolved by air pressure impingingthereagainst.

Referring inore specifically to the drawings and first with reference toFigures 1 to 6, for the purpose of illustrating one preferredapplication and use of the novel spinning device, designated generally10 and comprising nited States Patent 0 the invention, a conventionalkite 11 has been illustrated in Figure 1 to show one application and useof the spin- 'ning device 10 as a mechanical kite tail to automaticallyregulate the drag on the kite depending upon the wind velocity in whichthe kite is being flown. The conventional kite 11 includes the usualframe having a stick 12 forming a part of the frame and extending fromtop to bottom of the kite and which is provided with notched ends forreceiving portions of the conventional kite string 13 on which the kitepaper 14 is secured in a conventional manner. The bottom notch 15 of thestick 12 in which a part of the string 13 engages is illustrated inFigures 2 and 3.

The spinning device 10 includes an attaching tab 16, a spinner orrevolving member 17 and a swivel connector 18. The tab 16 may be formedof any suitable sheet-like material capable of being readily flexed,such as a heavy paper or plastic and may be of various shapes. The tab16 is provided with two relatively small laterally spaced openings 19located near an upper end thereof with a larger opening 20 located nearto but spaced from a lower end of the tab and preferably in a centeredposition relative to a longitudinal axis of the tab. The tab 16 is alsoprovided with a longitudinally extending slot 21 opening into theopening 26 and extending downwardly therefrom and terminatingsubstantially above a lower end of the tab. The tab 16 is also providedwith slits 22 communicating with and extending downwardly from theopenin s 19 and which open outwardly of side edge portions of the tababove and spaced from its lower end 23. The tab 16 is thus provided witha central portion disposed between the slits 22 and extending from itslower end 25 to the openings 19 and in which the opening 20 and slot 21are formed. The tab 16 also has wing por tions 25;, formed by the slits22 and disposed outwardly with respect thereto and with respect to theupper part of said central portion 24.

The spinner or revolving member 17 comprises a head 26 of two plyconstruction which may be formed from a single piece of sheet-likematerial such as the material of which the tab 16 is formed. The pieceforming the head 26 may be folded along a fold line 27 thereof to formtwo corresponding plies 28 having relatively wide unsecured bottomportions 29 and upper portions 34) which taper in width. The upperportions 39 of the plies 28 are provided with registering openings 31and registering slots 32. The head opening 31 and slot 32 are preferablydisposed in alignment with the longitudinal axis of the member 17 andthe slot 32 communicates with and extends upwardly from the opening 31but has an upper closed end spaced from the restricted upper end of theupper head portion 30. The revolving member or spinner 17 also includesa pair of elongated blades or vanes 33 and 34 each having longitudinalside edges. The blades or vanes 33 and 34 are likewise formed of amaterial which may be readily fiexed such as heavy paper or sheetplastic and have upper end portions 35 disposed between the lower plyportions 29 of the head 26 and which are secured thereto by a suitablefastening 37, such as a staple, which extends through said ply portions29 and through the blade portions 35. The blades 33 and 34 are thusattached to the head 26 so as to extend downwardly from the lower end ofsaid head. The vanes or blades 33 and 34 are secured to the head 26 withthe longitudinal axes of said blades offset relative to one another soas to diverge in a direction away from the head 26. Thus, the blades 33and 34 have inner longitudinal edges 33a and 34a, respectively, whichconverge relative to one another from the head 26, and outerlongitudinal edges 33b and 34b, respectively, which diverge relative toone another from the head 26. Accordingly, the width of the portions ofthe blades 33 and 34 which overlap,

as defined by the portions of said blades disposed between the inneredges 33a and 34a, diminishes away from the head 26, and the width ofthe exposed portions 330 and Me, located between the edges 34a and 34band 33a and 34b, respectively, increases toward the lower free ends 33dand 34d of the blades 33 and 34, respectively. As best seen in Figure 4,the ends 33d and 34d are inclined downwardly and outwardly with respectto one another.

The swivel connector 18 is illustrated as comprising a conventional ballchain, each ball of which is swivelly connected relative to the ball orballs disposed adjacent thereto. However, any other suitable form ofswivel 18 which is flexible could be substituted for the swivel ballchain 18. The ball chain 18 may be of any desired length. The halls ofthe chain connector 18 are smaller in diameter than the openings 20 and31 and larger than the width of the slots 21 and 32. Accordingly, endportions of the connector 18 are inserted through the openings 20 and 31and are then drawn into the slots 21 and 32 to the closed ends thereofand away from the openings 20 and 31, respectively, so that portions ofthe chain located between adjacent balls engage in said slots 21 and 32for detachably connecting the end portions of the connector 18 to thetab 16 and head 26.

With the spinning device thus assembled, a portion of the kite cord 13located adjacent the notch 15 is passed upwardly through the slits 22into engagement with the openings 19 and the part of the kite cord,located between said openings 19 is then engaged in the notch 15 forthereby detachably connecting the tab 16 and accordingly the spinningdevice 10 to the lower end of the kite 11, as clearly illustrated inFigures 2 and 3. The kite is then flown in a conventional manner withthe device 10 functioning as a mechanical kite tail. The wind willstrike the exposed portions of the blades or vanes 33 and 34, designated33c and 340, on the sides of said vanes or blades which constitute theinner sides thereof and which face toward the other vane or blade. Thus,the wind will impinge against the near side of the vane portion 340 andthe far side of the vane portion 330 as seen in Figure 4. The vanes orblades will thus be deflected by the air pressure to flex away from oneanother toward open positions of the vanes as seen in Figure 1, so thatthe air can then impinge against greater areas of the same sides of thevanes including the portions thereof disposed in overlapping abuttingrelation when the vanes are closed as seen in Figure 1. This will causethe revolving member 17 including said vanes and the head 26 to revolverelative to the tab 16, such rotary movement being permitted by theswivel connector 18. As the revolving member 17 is rotated by the airpressure impinging against the inner sides of the vanes or blades, withthe vanes otfset relative to one another as illustrated in Figure 4,said vanes will revolve in a counterclockwise direction as viewed fromabove, as indicated by the arrows 38 in Figures 1 and 6. The offsettingof the blades or vanes will cause the blades to be pitched relative tothe head 26 and spread by air impinging against adjacent sides thereofand the extent that the blades are pitched will increase as the bladesare spread further apart or may be increased by increasing theofisetting of the blades. Thus, the greater the air pressure impingingagainst the inner sides of the blades, the faster the revolving member17 will be rotated and the greater will be the spreading of the vanes.Additionally, the vanes will be spread apart by centrifugal force. Thegreater the vanes are spread apart, the greater will be the dragproduced by the unit 17 on the kite 11. Thus, when the kite is beingfiown in a light breeze when little or no tail is required the member 17will revolve very slowly and will afford little drag on the kite.However, should the wind velocity The mechanical kite tail 10 willextend only a relatively short distance from the lower end of the kiteso that it will not be as likely to strike overhead wires, trees orother hazards as a long kite tail, as is conventionally used.

It will also be obvious that the vanes or blades could be each invertedand offset in the opposite direction to that as shown in Figure 4, inwhich case the member 17 would revolve in the opposite direction orclockwise as viewed from above.

Figure 7 illustrates the lower portion of a kite 1111 having two framemembers 12a which are diagonally disposed relative to one another andhave transversely spaced lower notched ends for receiving portions ofthe kite cord 130. Two of the mechanical kite tails may be employed withthe kite 11a as illustrated in Figure 7 attached in the manner aspreviously described to the kite cord 13a adjacent the notched lowerends of the frame members 12a. The left-hand kite tail 10a correspondsidentically with the kite tail 10 of Figure l and rotates in the samedirection or counterclockwise as indicated by the arrows 38a. The other,right-hand kite tail or spinning device 10b has the blades or vanes 33cand 34e thereof olfset in the opposite direction to the arrangement ofthe blades 33 and 34 in Figure 4, so that the unit 17a of the mechanicalkite tail 19/) will rotate in the opposite direction or clockwise asviewed from above and as indicated by the arrows 381). Thus, by havingthe two mechanical kite tails rotating in opposite directions willeffect a neutralization of the torque resulting from the rotation of thekite tails.

While the spinning devices have been illustrated and described inconnection with their use as a kite tail, it will be readily apparentthat said devices have numerous other uses and that the kite cord merelyconstitutes one slender element to which the spinning device may beattached by a tab 16. As it will be readily apparent, the mechanicalkite tail will provide amusement in the visual etfect produced by thespinning thereof in addition to its utility as a kite tail. The spinningdevice may also be mounted on parts of vehicles to spin when the vehicleis in motion, or may be strung around a place of business such as agasoline station to attract attention of passers-by. The devices mayalso be strung on cord in fruit trees or over crops to be activated bythe wind for frightening away birds.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may obviously beresorted to, without departing from the spirit or scope of the inventionas hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A spinning device comprising an attaching member constituting one endof said device, an elongated rotatable unit constituting the other endthereof, and limber swivel connector means connected to the attachingmember and to one end of said rotatable unit, said rotatable unitincluding means responsive to wind velocity to cause said unit to rotaterelative to the attaching member, said rotatable unit including a headattached to said connector means and a pair of elongated blades formingsaid wind velocity responsive means, said blades having forward endsanchored to said head, said blades extending from the head in adirection away from said connector means, said blades constituting flatresilient strips capable of yielding away from one another and havingtheir longitudinal axes disposed in diverging relation relative to oneanother in a direction away from the head, said blades being normallydisposed in substantially parallel planes from end-to-end thereof and inpartially overlapping relation to one another whereby a movement of airrelative to the blades in a direction longitudinally of the blades fromtheir forward ends toward their opposite free ends by impinging againstthe exposed portions of adjacent sides of said blades will cause aspreading of the blades relative to one another and rotation of saidunit.

2. A spinning device as in claim 1, the forward ends of said bladesbeing disposed in abutting engagement with one another whereby said hi1Cl6S are normally disposed with the overlapping portions thereof inabutting engagement with one another from end-to-end of the blades.

3. A spinning device comprising an attaching member constituting one endof said device, an elongated rotatable unit constituting the other endthereof, and limber swivel connector means connected to the attachingmember and to one end of said rotatable unit, said rotatable unitincluding means responsive to wind velocity to cause said unit to rotaterelative to the attaching member, said attaching member comprising anelongated piece of substantially flat sheet-like material capable ofbeing flexed, said swivel connector being detachably connected adjacentone end thereof to said piece and adjacent an end of said piece, saidattaching member having transversely spaced openings located adjacentits opposite end adapted to receive therethrough a strand-likesupporting member, said attaching member having slits communicating withthe openings thereof and opening outwardly of the piece forming theattaching member remote from said openings and adjacent the firstmentioned end of said attaching member piece.

4. A spinning device as in claim 3, said swivel connector comprising aball chain, said rotatable unit including a head, said head and theaforementioned end of said attaching member piece having keyhole shapedopenings the restricted ends of which extend toward adjacent ends of theattaching member and head for detachably receiving end portions of theball chain and in the restricted portions of which keyhole shapedopenings parts of the ball chain are detachably anchored for connectingthe attaching member to said rotatable unit.

5. A spinning device comprising an attaching memher having means fordetachably connecting said attaching member to a long slender supportingelement, an elongated rotatable unit, and an elongated limber swivelconnector, said attaching member and one end of the rotatable unit beingprovided with means for detachably anchoring end portions of the swivelconnector thereto whereby said rotatable unit is swivelly connectedswingably to said attaching member, said rotatable unit including a pairof elongated substantially flat resilient blades capable of yieldingaway from one another, means securing corresponding ends of said bladesto one another, said securing means positioning the blades with theirplanes substantially parallel and with their longitudinal axes disposedin diverging relation to one another in a direction away from thesecuring means, portions of the blades being normally disposed inoverlapping relation with adjacent sides of the overlapping portions ofsaid blades in substantially abutting engagement, and said blades havingexposed outer portions of said adjacent sides against which air movingalong the blades from the secured ends thereof impinges for causing theblades to yield away from one another to cause said rotatable unit to berevolved by the air velocity and substantially about the longitudinalaxis thereof.

Hill July 16, 1912 Edmonds Apr. 2, 1946

